With new innovations, campaign and revolutionary products, meant to redefine communication, Raheem Akingbolu, reckons that the Glo brand must have set new direction for Nigeria’s telecom industry.
To win consumers’ loyalties, players in the nation’s telecommunications market have, for over 16 years delighted subscribers with series of products and innovations to appeal to their fancies.
With the level the sector has reached in competition and product offering, perhaps only the players in the financial sector can stand shoulder to shoulder with the operators of Global System for Mobile (GSM).
Of course, marketing experts have linked this development to the easy and pocket friendly accessibility subscribers in the country now have to data and call services.
Beyond making calls or browsing, handlers of the Globacom brand has announced their determination to redefine the industry through global digital revolution in the years ahead.
At a press briefing in Lagos, where major stakeholders in the media were present; the company rolled out series of initiatives and revolutionary products to boost consumers’ living standard.
While it may be difficult to zero the new offering to corporate social responsibility (CSR), it may not also be wrong to single it out as a unique social service that would positively impact the life style of Nigerians.
The new products include: Glo Drive, Glo Health, Glo Entertainment Portal, Glo Mobile Money, Glo Call Connect Service, World Connect and Glo Titi, the Artificial Intelligence platform.
Charting a new course for healthcare
Though many products were introduced, the decision of the company to priorities healthcare through Glo health sounded unusual but the company’s Deputy Chief Operating Officer, Technical, Mr. Bisi Koleoso, was quick to state in his welcome address that Globacom was committed to ensuring that Nigerians were not left behind in the march to a digitalised world, hence the need to digitalise major services that could improve living standard.
Koleoso pointed out that Glo Health Care is a digital health assistant designed to offer Nigerians access to best doctors in the world directly on their phone. Speaking while taking journalists through a presentation on the array of products and campaign deplored to reshape the industry, Mogaji said the product was conceptualised to enable Nigerians connect with at least 300 specialised doctors worldwide.
“At Glo, we think we can up the ante by addressing salient issues affecting the public like good healthcare delivery. With Glo health, Nigerians can get information on common medical conditions at the click of a button; have access to information on common health challenges and health advice on public health.
“One can also track key health parameters like blood pressure and sugar level in the body. Besides, there is worldwide database of doctors available on the app and it allows booking of appointment by video consulting on the smartphone” he said.
For easy understanding, the Deputy COO also added that the product has been domesticated into major languages; Igbo, Hausa and Yoruba•
Boost for entertainment industry
With a new entertainment portal, the Glo Entertainment Portal, which offers a single point of access for millions of digital entertainment content through Glo Café, the company has further showcased its commitment to promote local content in the entertainment industry. In a way, pundits see the entertainment portal as a melting point for both local and international artists because of the provision of a single point of access for all digital content through Glo Café which supplies premium content of top international labels. •
With over two million local and foreign songs and over 12,000 Hollywood, Nollywood, Bollywood movies on Glo Café and Glo movie café respectively, the Glo brand has sure created a unique platform for existing and upcoming artists to explore and sharpen their skills.
Besides, for making accessibility possible to more than 10,000 games from top gaming developers across the globe as well as provision of music, comedy, sports and short videos from top music channels, the brand has thus created a one stop-shop content platform for Nigerians. This is in addition to the promise of more than 62 live channels on Glo Mobile TV.
What further demonstrated the patriotic posture of the brand is the parade of various Nigerian artist that represent the old and the young generations in ‘Glo’s we Got People Talking’ song. Among others, the highly emotional song parade legendary King Sunny Ade, Davido, Olamide, Flavour, Sani Danja Dimension and many supporting artists.
Glo mobile money
One of the products, which have been hailed by industry watchers as being timely, is the The Glo Mobile Money. According to Koleoso, the new product is an agent network which would hasten the drive towards a cash-light Nigerian society by enabling financial transactions on the mobile phone and extending financial inclusion to over 60 million unbanked people in the country. The product is considered apt for this era because of the general clamour for cashless society.
“Glo Mobile money is an agent network for quick mobilisation of funds for utility payments. It is designed to serve as a safe and secure money transfer system to reduce physical cash management. It has many unique selling points like 24 hours instant money transfer• It has nigh-end device or data dependency as it can work with any phone,”
From any angle one chooses to look at the offering, apart from the fact that it will go a long way in helping to boost overall economy of the country, it will also help agent network ready for all payments including merchant, salary and person to person transfers. Glo mobile money will also help Nigerians in the area of insurance payments, fixed deposits and international transfers.
Artificial Intelligence
Tagged ‘GLO TITI’, the artificial intelligence platform introduce at the forum would engage customers directly and assist them to get information about data plans, prepaid plans and Value Added Service (VAS). This enables customers to choose the most convenient plan, resolve issues and ask questions any time of the day without any human interface.
Speaking about this, the group Chief Technical Director, Sanjip Roy, in his presentation, said over 2,000 generators, and 6,000 new batteries had been swapped for better power availability for the network. He also stated that about 1,000 kilometres of fibre have been rechanneled to the ongoing road constructions across the country.
“Through the Artificial Intelligence Service, Glo is set to completely change customer experience. It is highly interactive and engaging and will assist customers to get information about data plans, prepaid plans, postpaid plans and Value Added Service (VAS). It will also provide necessary information about data plans, prepaid plans, postpaid plans and VAS.”
Expectedly, the product was said to have been conceptualised to also help patrons of the network address issues like balance enquiry and customer care assistance, which will be available on voice and text.
Another unique thing about what the company has described as ‘next generation customer experience’ is the fact that conversations can be in English and Pidgin-English to assist subscribers
Two other products that would excite Nigerians in the next few days are the Glo Drive and Glo Call Connect Services. While Glo Drive addresses problems subscribers face with storing their data by offering limitless storage capacity in the cloud, Glo Call Connect helps subscribers stay connected all the time even if the subscriber’s phone is switched off, has zero balance, or is out of coverage area. The last is the Glo World Connect, which ensures that business executives stay connected to their offices anywhere in the world by offering them the most affordable roaming data in 60 countries with over 6.4 million wifi hotspots worldwide. The company has disclosed that the infrastructure will be available in all world airports.
Icing on the cake
To deepen communication with its patrons through endorsement, Glo can be said to have reinforced its status as a world class brand as it signs an endorsement deal with the world heavyweight boxing champion, Anthony Joshua. In a documentary shown at the event, Joshua, who is proud of his Nigerian heritage, said he respected the ownership and management of Globacom, adding that as a Nigerian, he believed that charity must begin from home. “I believe in Glo,” he said.
Giving further justification for his decision to partner with Globacom to propagate the goodness of the telecom company in Nigeria and Ghana, Joshua said, “There has always been a big piece of my heart as a Nigerian and I do believe that it is that piece that sets me apart. It always says to me, ‘never give up, dream big’.
“We come from a nation of warriors and that is why I believe in Glo. We have that same tenacity, that Nigerian fighting spirit that makes us game changers. We are relentless. We don’t just face our challenges; we step into the ring to win again and again.
“If you believe in yourself, there is no limit to what you can achieve. Yeah, I used to be a bricklayer in England but now I am heavyweight champion of the world”, he stated with pride.
To prove that he shares same DNA with the Glo brand, Joshua pointed out that they both share fastest speed, longest reach and the Nigerian fighting spirit as game changers.
In August last year, Glo marked its 15th year anniversary in a market where everybody thought things would be tough for its promoters at the beginning as they were faced with stiff competition from foreign operators, but the beats has continued to on. The story is that of not giving up despite all odds but the greater story of the Glo brand is never told by those who promoted it, but the alternative it gave to the ultimate owners of the brand; the subscribers.
